Spider's Web: A Collection of All-Action Short Stories Read Free Page A

nodded thoughtfully. ‘And what evidence do they have?’
    Shepherd said nothingjussaid no.
    Tankov pressed the knife against Shepherd’s throat again. ‘What evidence do they have?’ he repeated.
    ‘Circumstantial,’ said Shepherd.
    ‘Circumstantial?’
    ‘You’ve been in places where killings have taken place. That plus your background.’
    ‘But nothing definite?’
    ‘You’re one of several names they gave us. They wanted me to follow you, find out what you were up to.’
    Tankov nodded. ‘And what about London? Do they know why I’m here?’
    ‘No,’ said Shepherd.
    Tankov stared at Shepherd. ‘Are you lying to me?’
    ‘Why would I lie? I don’t care, Viktor. I’m just a cog in the machine. I gain nothing by lying to you. And if I tell you everything I know, you’ve got no need to kill me, right?’
    Tankov drew the knife slowly down Shepherd’s throat, scratching the skin but not piercing it.
    ‘I’m not lying,’ said Shepherd quickly.
    ‘So they don’t know who my target is?’
    ‘If they do, they didn’t tell us,’ said Shepherd. There was no risk in lying to the Russian, he clearly didn’t know how much Shepherd knew. The first rule of interrogation was never to ask a question that you didn’t know the answer to. Tankov might well be one the world’s most efficient assassins but he was a lousy interrogator.
    Tankov took the knife away and looked at the Scotsman. ‘What do you think?’
    ‘It’s your call,’ said the Scotsman.
    ‘We can go ahead,’ said the Russian. ‘If they don’t know the target …’
    ‘Who is the target?’ asked the Scotsman.
    ‘A journalist. Ella Mirskiv.’
    ‘A woman?’ said the Scotsman.
    ‘A target,’ said Tankov. ‘Man or woman, it makes no difference. She has been writing stories that damage my client and he wants her taken care of.’ He looked back at Shepherd. ‘Did they mention her? Ella Mirskiv?’
    Shepherd shook his head.
    ‘You are sure?’
    ‘I already said, I’ve got a photographic memory. I don’t forget anything. Can I ask you something?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘How did I show out? How did you know I was a cop?’
    ‘You were recognised, in a restaurant where I was meeting a contact. One of the waiters had come across you when you were a cop. He saw you watching me and tipped me off.’
    ‘But he wouldn’t have known my name,’ said Shepherd. ‘I never use my own name when I’m undercover.’
    ‘Ron here knew you,’ said Tankov, jerking a thumb at the Scotsman. ‘He was with me when my boys pulled you in. Said he recognised you.’
    Shepherd nodded. ‘Thanks for that, Ron.’
    ‘Pleasure.’
    ‘I don’t know you, do I?’ Shepherd asked the Scotsman.
    ‘You put away a group of my pals a while back,’ said the Scotsman. ‘Drugs.’
    ‘So much for your photographic memory.’ The Russian laughed.
    ‘You’re going to go ahead?’ asked the Scotsman. ‘You’re still going to take out this Ella Mirskiv?’
    ‘Why not? I’ve been paid in advance.’
    ‘Big money?’ asked the Scotsman.
    ‘The usual. A quarter of a million dollars.’
    ‘Is this one an accident or does she disappear?’
    The Russian smiled. ‘This one has to be seen to be an assassination,’ he said. ‘The client wants a bullet in the face, a warning to others.’
    ‘A warning?’ repeated the Scotsman.
    ‘A warning to other journalists not to write about him.’
    ‘The pen is supposed to be mightier than the sword,’ said the Scotsman.
    ‘That may be so, but I can tell you that a Glock is a lot more effective. You can get me a Glock?’
    ‘Of course.’
    The Russian turned back to Shepherd. ‘Enough talking,’ he said. ‘It’s time to gut the pig.’ He drew back the knife.
    ‘Before you kill me, there’s something you should know,’ said Shepherd quietly.
    ‘Please, don’t demean yourself by begging for your life,’ said Tankov. ‘As you said, you and I, we are professionals. We live and work as professionals and that is